Improvement in feeding-belts and partitions for corn-shellers



W. B. QUARTON.

FEEDING-BELT AND PARTITION FOR CORN-SHELLERS. No. 170,897, Patented Dec.7, 1875.

WITNESSES UNITED STATES PATENT CFFIGE.

WILLIAM B. QUARTON, OF FREMONT, IOWA.

lMPFiGVEMENT IN FEEDING-BELTS AND PARTITIONS FOR CORNSHELLERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 1 70,897, datedDecember 7, 1875; application filed June 25, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. QUARTON, of Fremont, in the county ofMahaska and State of Iowa, have invented a new and ImprovedOorn-Sheller; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description of the same, reference being bad to theaccompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, in whichFigure l is a longitudinal sectional elevation Fig. 2, a plan view.

The invention relates. to a corn-sheller having four or more feedingholes or throats that i receive ears independently; and consists inimproving the feeder for such a machine, as hereinafter will first bedescribed in connection with the drawing, and then pointed out in theclaims.

A represents a feed-box for a quadruple sheller, which is usuallyprovided with four independent belts, and separated into as manychannel-ways for the corn. The dividers a, that are now employed forthis purpose, are about half an inch high above the belts. This allowsthe corn to fall backward as it ascends, so that the inside belts orchannels do not feed so fast as the outside ones. I place between thetwo inner channels a divider, A, that is four inches high, and whichentirely obviates the difficulty.

With this improvement the machine is found to shell about fifteenbushels per hour more than before.

If the machine has a feeder with six channels, there will be requiredtwo of my dividers, and so on in proportion.

The independent belts-one for each channel-will sometimes catch andslip, while dirt, trash, and snow will also work in on the pulleys,above and below, as well as between, the belts, thus making it difficultto operate the feeder. In order to overcome this objection I make abroad belt, B, passing under all the channels, as shown in the drawing.

By means of my partitions A, which are of uniform and unvarying height,higher than the intervening partition, and located al ternately with thelower partitions, it will be seen that the corn cannot be supportedtransversely upon the feeder, and the ears are compelled to arrangethemselves longitudinally, and in such a manner as to be always in therange of the buckets and in position to be carried up.

The buckets (J, that transfer the corn, are now riveted on the belts,about an inch, or an inch and a half, from the turn or bend c of themetal forming the bucket. This allows them, when turning the pulley atthe top, to project some distance, and catch the ear of corn as itpasses over, thereby stopping the belt. -To obviate this objection Irivet the buckets to the belt, close up to the turn or bend of themetal, by means of which arrangement the buckets are made to projectaless distance in turning the pulley, and the chances of catching theends of the ears of corn and the stoppage of the belt diminishedaccordingly.

I am aware of the fact that a feeder for a corn-sheller has beenconstructed in which the partitions are all alike, and of greater heightat the top than at the bottom; but with this construction the ears ofcorn, which are dumped in promiscuonsly at the lower end from a basket,are very slow to arrange themselves in longitudinal direction, and alarge number of buckets go up empty, and the feeding capacity isproportionally limited.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is-- 1. Thecombination, with a corn-sheller feeder, of the partitions A, of greaterheight than the intervening partitions, and alternating in position withthe same, so as to divide the channels into sets of two each,substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The combination, in a feeder, with the series of dividers, formingchannels, of a single broad subjacent belt, B, as and for the purposeset forth.

WILLIAM B. QUARTON.

Witnesses:

S. W. POGKLINGTON, R. T. NEWELL.

